30 Kisses: Owaranai Ai
by jenny-R
Summary: Written for the LJ community 30kisses. SasuSaku. Kiss 5: His eyes were his power. A power that he had welcomed. And a power that he had now lost.
1. Bad Day

**Title: **Bad Day

**Author: **jenny-R

**Pairing: **Uchiha Sasuke x Haruno Sakura

**Fandom: **Naruto

**Theme: **# 18: "say ahh..."

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or its characters. If I did, then there would be a lot more SasuSaku scenes in it...

**Rating: **T

* * *

Uchiha Sasuke knew that this was going to be a really bad day.

He had had that feeling from the moment he had woken up and gotten out of bed. He was assigned to an S-rank mission along with Kakashi-sensei and Naruto, since the three of them were now one of the best ANBU teams in Konohagakure. They had left the village early this morning, and their mission was as simple as to track some missing-nins that had been detected around Konoha and retrieve them. But even when they had already departed, this feeling wouldn't just abandon him that easily. Nevertheless, he shoved it away, thinking that it would probably be because it was his first high-ranked mission after such a long time.

It was not that he was afraid or anything. He was an Uchiha after all, and he wouldn't let a stupid feeling control him and affect the outcome of his mission.

But the Uchiha's instincts had never proven him wrong until now.

And as facts suggested, neither would they today.

Shortly after they left the grounds of the Leaf Village, they got caught in an ambush by the missing-nins they were looking for. Of course, both Sasuke and Naruto could fight them equally now, but those nins seemed to be extraordinary skillful. They tried to trick the ANBU team with genjutsu techniques, but Sasuke's Sharingan could easily see through them. But when Naruto was already fighting two of them, he didn't notice the powerful attack that was coming right towards him from behind. Sasuke moved as fast as he could to prevent the blond from being hit, but the missing-nin seemed to be faster than him. Having no other choice, the Uchiha accumulated his chakra to his palm, getting ready to attack the nin with his Chidori. But before he could complete his attack, he felt a stinging pain penetrating his left side, and he hit the ground with a loud thud.

The fox-boy owed him for this one.

Kakashi hurried to Sasuke's side, while Naruto continued fighting. Seeing that the boy was badly injured, the silver-haired shinobi suggested that he should go back to the village to take care of his wounds. But being the stubborn guy that he was, Sasuke declined the 'offer', saying that it wasn't anything _that _serious and that he could make it.

Too bad that Kakashi didn't share the same thoughts with him. And so, the Uchiha boy was reluctantly transfered back to Konoha. As soon as they reached the gates of the village, they were surprised to see his former teammate, Haruno Sakura, waiting for them there, with a worried expression carved upon her face. She told them that Tsunade had sent her there to take care of Sasuke, after finding out what had happened.

And so, Sasuke suddenly found himself being supported on the pink-haired kunoichi, with his left arm wrapped tightly around her shoulders to provide him better balance, and her own arm holding his waist in a tight grip. He didn't know why, but he didn't feel like letting go of her.

He mentally slapped himself for making a thought like that. But even though he hated to admit it - and he didn't have to any time soon - it was the sheer truth, lying at the very bottom of his heart.

Before he realized it, they had reached the hospital and he was put into a room with one single bed, just for him. How well everyone knew that he didn't like company in the slightest. The next thing he knew, Sakura was taking care of his broken arm and ribs with particular attention not to cause him more pain. She carefully placed his broken arm into a cast, and wrapped his chest and stomach with bandages. No wonder that she was considered one of the best medic-nins in Konoha now. She surely knew how to do her job well.

After she was finished,she said that she had to go to examine a few other patients and that she would return to check up on him soon.

Sasuke sat up in his bed and he winced as a wave of pain was sent through his whole body. Damn those missing-nins. And damn his weakness. He should be able to fight them without much of a difficulty, but he had been too careless. A sigh escaped his lips and he casted his eyes on the ceiling, frustrated. He wanted to get out of there as soon as possible.

At that moment, a knock at the door was heard, distracting Sasuke from his thoughts. He didn't even bother to respond, and the door creaked open slightly, revealing a shock of pink hair and the smiling face of the medic-nin that was in charge of him.

"Hello, Sasuke-kun!" she said cheerfully to the frowning boy. "How are you feeling?"

Instead of answering her simple question, the Uchiha prodigy gave her a small smirk. "You're late."

Sakura seemed a bit surprised by his response, but she gave him one of her warmest smiles as she came closer to his bed. "I'm sorry." she said apologetically. "I came as fast as I could."

In fact, Sasuke knew that she wasn't late at all. If Haruno Sakura had an advantage that even he could acknowledge, it was her punctuality. But he couldn't resist the urge he felt to tease her.

He fixed his black orbs on her, and watched her as she was getting ready to examine his wounds. He wasn't at all surprised that the cherry blossom was in fact the one to take care of him. Despite the fact that she was Tsunade's apprentice and she had mastered most of the medical jutsus, he knew that there was something more to that.

Sakura took notice of the persistent stare the raven-haired boy was giving her, and a smooth pink colour covered her cheeks. She turned her back to him, in a futile attempt to hide her blush, but Sasuke had already noticed. And his smirk grew wider.

When the kunoichi turned again towards him, she was holding a bowl and chopsticks. Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "What's this?" he asked the pink-haired girl, who had already sat on the bed softly.

"I brought you some bento." the medic-nin replied, enjoying Sasuke's expression. "I thought that you'd like something to eat before the check-up" she added, as a grin of amusement crept upon her lips.

Sasuke snorted. "I don't need it."

Now it was Sakura's turn to raise an eyebrow. "What are you talking about Sasuke-kun? Aren't you even a bit hungry?" the cherry blossom asked, looking at the Uchiha avenger straight into his black orbs.

Sasuke remained silent.

"I'll take that as a yes." Sakura said, smiling softly. She took the chopsticks, caught a small rice ball from the bowl, and brought it close to Sasuke's mouth.

The raven-haired genius blinked in surprise and an inquisitive expression made its way to his beautiful face. "Wh-what...?"

Sakura suppresed her urge to burst into laughter and chuckled softly instead.

"Say ahh..." she said with a somehow playful tone in her voice. Right now, she knew that Sasuke would rather die from starvation than get fed by her, but she tried nevertheless.

The Uchiha boy didn't even make an attempt to open his mouth and let her feed him. "I can eat by myself, you know." he said as his features crumpled into a deep scowl of annoyance. "I'm a big boy now." He glared at the cherry blossom who still waited for him to do her the favor and open his mouth, hoping that she would soon give up.

"I highly doubt that you can, Sasuke-kun. Your right arm is broken and you have serious injuries to your whole body." Sakura said with a disapproving look. "And since you're a big boy as you say, stop acting like a little kid." she added grinning playfully. She was used to the Uchiha's stubborness after being in the same team with him all those years, and she had learned not to give up on him that easily.

Sasuke frowned. She was right. He was currently unable to even move without emitting waves of pain to his whole body, let alone feed himself. And the kunoichi hadn't given him many alternatives either. So, with a groan of annoyance - and ignoring that last comment of hers - he put his pride aside and parted his lips slightly.

Sakura's face beamed with happiness as a huge grin made its way to her rosy lips. She brought the chopsticks even closer to Sasuke's mouth, and watched him as he chewed and swallowed the rice slowly.

"So, do you like it?" the cherry blossom asked, getting another ball of rice ready.

"Aa."

As the kunoichi shoved another rice ball into Sasuke's mouth, she accidentally got the edge of his mouth with the chopsticks.

"Oh, Sasuke-kun..." she said, noticing the rice that had remained upon his lips. "You have..." She tipped her index finger to the edge of her own mouth, using herself as a mirror to him.

"What?" Sasuke asked abruptly, preventing the girl from finishing her sentence... And pretending not to understand what Sakura really meant.

Without giving it much thought, Sakura leaned towards Sasuke and pressed her lips against his own, whipping the piece of rice off of Sasuke's lips.

As soon as she fully realized what she had just done, she pulled away from him quickly. "I-I'm sorry!" she stammered, as her cheeks were covered by a shade of pink similar to that of her hair. "I-I don't know what took over me! I should have just used my hands instead!"

She stood up and started to walk up and down in the room, supposedly getting her equipment ready to examine his injuries. There was no need for her to even _try _and hide her flushed cheeks anymore.

Sasuke smirked as Sakura helped him sat up in his bed.

Maybe it wasn't such a bad day after all...

* * *

**And that was the end of it. I hope that you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it! Now, let me explain the title of the whole collection, 'Owaranai Ai'. It means 'Endless Love' and I think it really fits Sasuke and Sakura Please, go easy on me, since this is my first Naruto story ever. I hope I didn't make them too OOC... Especially Sasuke. His character is so hard to depict sometimes. But he still is my favourite! Read and review please, and tell me if you liked it! I do not accept flames, just so you know. Constructive criticism is much appreciated. And I will try to update my other story, **_**Moonlight, **_**as soon as possible. But with exams coming up next week, I don't know if I'll have enough time for this.**

**Many thanks to my wonderful beta, EmeraldWolfChild, and to my best friend, Kanashimi Angel, for helping me out with the title! I don't know what I'd do without you!**


	2. Returning Home

**Title:**Returning Home

**Author: **jenny-R

**Pairing: **Uchiha Sasuke x Haruno Sakura

**Fandom: **Naruto

**Theme: **# 2: news; letter

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or its characters. They all belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

**Rating: **Teens

* * *

**Something I forgot to mention in my previous post: This is going to be a collection of SasuSaku oneshots, based on 30 themes given ****by the LiveJournal community 30kisses, as stated in the summary. Sorry for the inconvenience everyone. Here is the next one, which really came out of nowhere! I don't know what got into me and made me write it, but I hope you like it nevertheless! The letters in italics are Sakura's thoughts. Oh, and something more. In the previous story, Sasuke and Sakura were about 15 or 16 years old, as well as in this one. Thanks Tishni for reminding me! And thanks to all those who reviewed until now. I really appreciate it! Anyway, on with the story now. Enjoy!**

* * *

It seemed to be an ordinary night at the hidden village of Konoha. The big yellow moon dominated proudly in the middle of the night sky, having as its only company the countless tiny stars and constellations that surrounded it with grace. The dim light of the silver disc traveling among the few clouds was falling gently on the houses and the roads, giving the whole village an eerie beauty.

A teenage girl at the age of sixteen was running with force, following a direction she had never taken before. Her beautiful pink locks were being led away by the cold breeze that was blowing gently on her face, and her bright emerald eyes were sparkling with determination. Her hands were clenched into fists, making the cloth that her hazel gloves were made of being creased, but also allowing her to increase her speed.

She had to hurry.

Earlier that day, while she was helping out Tsunade-sama by running some errands for her (while the Godaime was probably taking a nap at her office or enjoying a bottle or two of sake) she heard the two shinobi that were guarding the Konoha gates, saying that they saw Uchiha Sasuke passing just in front of them a little while ago. At first, Sakura thought that they were probably mistaking him, but later on she heard some other villagers talking about a tall raven-haired boy with an apathetic expression on his beautiful face, holding a long katana on one hand.

There was no doubt that it was him.

Uchiha Sasuke had returned back to Konoha.

Despite everyone's comments about the Uchiha boy, she was still hesitant to believe this. She had to see him with her own eyes.

And so, as soon as she finished her work at Tsunade-sama's office, she went to make sure that the news she had heard were true.

She was running with all her might now, and she could feel her breathing becoming harder and harder by the second. The truth was that she had never come this close to the Uchiha compound, but she didn't care. The burning desire to see him again was engulfing her heart, and Sakura had always been one of those girls who listen to their heart and not their mind.

Suddenly, Sakura came to a halt, as she was now in front of Konoha's biggest and most well-known residence. The Uchiha compound. Panting heavily, she leaned to a nearby tree and tried to adjust her breathing to normal again. Her eyes wandered to her surroundings. It was so calm and quiet here. So much, that it made it difficult for her to imagine this place full of people, as it once was. A sad smile made its way to her rosy lips at that thought. Sasuke must have been really lonely here by himself after the massacre he had witnessed with his own eyes ages ago.

When her breathing steadied to a normal pace, Sakura walked forward, approaching the entrance. She hesitated for a moment. She still wasn't sure if the rumours were true, if Sasuke had really come back to the village. A small part of her still found it impossible to happen, but she wanted to believe that it was true. She closed her eyes and brought her left arm up to her chest. With a soft movement, she clenched the fabric, furrowing her brows. When she snapped her eyes open again, the former determination that had been seen in them before, burned inside them like a fire.

Even though her mind screamed for her to back off and go home, she wasn't the timid little girl she once used to be.

Besides, she had come here for a reason.

Looking forward again, she crossed the huge gates with the Uchiha fan carved upon them. The darkness was surrounding her, but she was still able to find her way through it. She hadn't been training so hard for nothing all those years.

She was walking with slow steps, glancing to her right and left, trying to catch a glimpse of the Uchiha boy. Despite the darkness, she could still distinguish the glorious houses of the Uchihas that made her look around her with awe. Sakura had to admit that the Uchiha compound really looked like a small village itself, like all the rumours she had heard about it before said.

Sasuke was still nowhere to be seen and Sakura could already feel her heart sinking inside her chest. She sighed with a loud noise. She knew that this was too good to be true. Sasuke couldn't have possibly returned with no one of his former teammates being aware of it. The enthusiasm she had initially felt, had now become a bitter feeling of disappointment.

As she turned around to leave, she felt a very strong and familiar chakra approaching her. Her eyes widened and her whole body was paralyzed from the surprise that consumed her. _No way…_

There, right in front of her, stood Uchiha Sasuke with his deep, crimson red eyes staring at her and the blade of his katana leaning on his shoulder. The expression on his face was colder than she remembered it to be and his skin seemed even paler as the moonlight was gracefully surrounding his form.

They were left like that for some moments. Sakura totally speechless and unable to move and Sasuke standing only some meters away from her, staring at her with no disruption.

And then, Sasuke did something that Sakura never expected him to do.

He attacked her.

The cold and sharp blade of his katana instantly made contact with the bare and warm flesh of her arm. The feeling of her hot blood gushing from her wound, made her numb body able to move again, in order to avoid a second attack that was aiming for her heart this time.

With a skillful manoeuvre, Sakura stepped back, holding tight her wounded arm. Sasuke was really fast with his attacks, thus not giving her a chance to heal herself. She clenched her teeth as she tried to evade another attack of his.

Why was Sasuke attacking her? Had he not realized that it was just her?

Sakura didn't want to fight him. Besides, she hadn't come here for this. But if this continued, she would have herself killed in no time. So, having no other choice, she turned towards Sasuke's direction, her right fist already in its way to punch his face. But it seemed that the Uchiha prodigy had realized her intention, because her fist never met its target. Instead, it was caught in between a big and rough hand.

Sakura's features were crumpled to an expression full of surprise. She had to expect this from a Sharingan user. He had seen through her attacks. Since her first attack had been prevented, she had no choice but to try another one. So, she lifted her still bleeding left arm, aiming for his face once again.

A loud noise of steel touching the ground was heard as Sasuke let his katana fall down, using his hand to stop Sakura's second attempt on hitting him. The cherry blossom winced in pain as Sasuke was holding both her hands firmly. A small smirk appeared upon his lips, never loosening his grip on her.

Sakura tried to free at least one of her hands, with no avail. Without realizing it, her back touched the wall behind her, and she let out a small gasp. Sasuke pressed both her arms on the cold stone, making it even harder for her to escape from him.

"Sasuke-kun…" she let out, her voice barely above a whisper.

There was a long pause before Sasuke's answer. "Sakura?" he questioned with his hoarse voice that Sakura longed so many years to hear again. "What are you doing here?"

The edges of Sakura's mouth crept into a small smile. "So, the news were true." she said, her voice quivering. "You're finally back."

"Yes." replied the Uchiha. "You came here just for that? I could have easily killed you." He said as he let go of her hands and leaned a bit closer to her, his palms touching the cold stone behind her to support himself.

"I know." She replied, her emerald eyes locking with his ebony ones. "But I wanted to see you. I wanted to make sure you had really returned. Why didn't you say anything to us?"

A small ray of moonlight made itself visible from behind the house Sasuke and Sakura were leaning on, bathing both of them with its dim shades. Now they could see each other clearly. And that was when they realized how close they were.

"Go home." Sasuke said, his lips only inches apart from hers. "You have no reason to be here now."

But Sakura had no intention to leave. Her jade orbs were traveling around Sasuke's face, amazed as to how well he had matured. He was even more handsome than she remembered. And the way he was now leaning towards her, made a soft pink colour cover her cheeks. She could now feel his breath tickling her face as his muscled body almost touched hers. She looked up into his eyes again, but she couldn't distinguish his intentions.

"I think I do…" she whispered softly, just a mere second before his mouth covered hers, not giving her the chance to finish her sentence. Normally, Sakura would have been surprised by this action of his, but she found herself unable to. As he deepened the kiss, Sakura noticed that his hands had remained steady on the wall and had not touched her body at all. She smiled inwardly at that.

When their lips finally parted after some minutes, Sasuke approached her ear and he whispered gently: "Thank you."

Sakura smiled happily; the first true smile she had given in a long time. She could never imagine that hearing those words coming out of his mouth again could make her beam with so much happiness.

The news were true.

Uchiha Sasuke had returned back to Konoha.

* * *

**And here's the second kiss! As I said before, it was just a spur of the moment**** and so it doesn't follow the plotline of the manga or the anime. I hope it wasn't that bad. And if you feel kind enough, leave me a review to tell me if and how you liked it, please! Just to remind you, I don't accept flames, and constructive criticism is very welcomed! The next oneshot will be coming soon, I presume, since school is officially over now (YAY!) So, see you in the next update everyone!**

**A million thanks to my wonderful betas EmeraldWolfChild and Kanashimi Angel! This wouldn't be done without your help! **


	3. Happy Birthday

**Title:**Happy Birthday

**Author: **jenny-R

**Pairing: **Uchiha Sasuke x Haruno Sakura

**Fandom: **Naruto

**Theme: **#23: candy

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or its characters. They all belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

**Rating: **Teens

* * *

**Before I say anything else, let me say that this one was written for Sasuke's birthday which ****was on the 23****rd**** of July! Happy birthday Sasuke-kun!! I was planning on putting this up on his birthday, but I wasn't able to finish it until then, so it's a belated birthday gift! At least, it came out earlier than the previous one. Oh, and just ignore Sasuke's departure from Konoha and all. I'm delaying the angst once again, because we all know that we need some SasuSaku fluff, right? Thanks loads to all those who reviewed those stories until now. I really appreciate it! I hope you'll like this one as well, even though it was done in a really short amount of time, which is nothing like me and my regular writing. Tell me what you think of it in a review, please! Enjoy! **

* * *

A small sunbeam made its way inside Haruno Sakura's room, passing through the semi-open folding shutters of her balcony door. It traveled inside the dark room, shedding some light upon the things that were in its way and forming shadows that fell on the empty bed at the corner of the room.

The sixteen-year-old cherry blossom had gotten up from her bed earlier than usual, and that was because today, it was a special day.

It was Sasuke's birthday.

She had passed the whole previous morning thinking of an appropriate present for her Uchiha teammate, but she couldn't find anything good enough that could possibly satisfy him. And so, she resorted to the easiest and most common solution.

A birthday cake.

In fact, Sakura had never made one by herself, but she had watched her mother prepare her own ones for her birthday parties when she was little, so many times before. After spending her afternoon trying her best to make the mixture she had produced at least _resemble_ a cake, and watching it carefully so as not to burn it when baking it, she finally came to a rather satisfying result. When it was all ready, she put the cake into a small box, which she made sure was not extremely adorned, because she knew that Sasuke hated ribbons, bows and everything related to such decorations.

With a small smile of self-contentment carved upon her rosy lips, Sakura walked down the crowded roads of Konohagakure, holding the package tight into her arms. Maybe there was a slight chance that Sasuke would appreciate her efforts to make this present for him, and wouldn't throw it away, like he usually did with the presents he received from his fangirls. But Sakura was _not_ a fangirl anymore. She had learned to respect the Uchiha boy and value his character more than his looks, knowing that behind this cold and not-caring attitude laid a boy who only longed for care and attention. And she was more than willing to give him those.

"Oi, Sakura-chaaan!" An annoyingly loud and familiar voice was heard calling her from somewhere behind, distracting her from her thoughts. She stopped in her tracks and slightly rolled her eyes before turning around to face the blond fox-boy, who was grinning widely at her.

"Naruto" she said, casting her emerald orbs on the blond who was running towards her direction, holding a plastic bag on one hand, while with the other he was waving at the cherry-headed girl. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, I was just running some errands and saw you here!" Naruto said happily. "Is this box for Sasuke-teme?" he inquired, pointing at the neatly tied box between Sakura's hands.

"Yes. It's actually a cake I made for his birthday." Sakura replied, smiling faintly.

"A birthday cake?" the blond repeated with a somewhat surprised tone in his voice. "Sakura-chan, I don't think that this would be the best gift for this sour-faced bastard, but I guess my opinion doesn't really matter, right?" the blond said while scratching the back of his head with his free hand, his usual goofy grin plastered on his face.

"I already know, Naruto." Sakura said as she continued walking forward, leaving the fox-boy behind. "But what kind of birthday will it be without a birthday cake?" she said, winking playfully at Naruto, who had run to her side, panting yet again.

"Yeah, I guess you're right, Sakura-chan!"

-----

Uchiha Sasuke threw his last kunai towards the target that was placed on the trunk of a tree some meters away from him, and watched it as it found the middle of it with a small sound. He went near the tree and started gathering all of his weapons to put them back to his holster on the back of his pants. A silent sigh escaped from his lips as he looked the forest around him.

Today was supposed to be a special day for him, even a 'happy' one if possible. But he felt nothing like it. Instead, he had been trying to avoid the crazy fangirls that were chasing him all around the village, determined to give him their presents, no matter the outcome. And so, Sasuke had been throwing away every single teddy bear and birthday card he had been given since early morning, without even glancing at them once.

All those stupid acts had started to make him really irritated. Besides, he was turning sixteen today and he wasn't a little boy anymore.

Suddenly, he heard a distant noise coming from somewhere near him, and he instinctively grabbed one of his kunais and held it tight into his fist, ready to attack to the intruder. Some moments later, he heard the soft rustling of the leaves and the bushes near him, and as he took his battle position, a pink-haired girl appeared among the dense greenery.

Sasuke felt his muscles relax instantly at the appearance of his teammate. "Sakura" he said, putting his kunai back to its place.

"Sasuke-kun!" A wide smile appeared on the girl's lips at the sight of the Uchiha in front of her. "I was looking for you." She felt her grip tightening on the small box she held, and she turned her gaze to the ground.

When the dark-haired boy said nothing in reply, but just stood there looking at her, Sakura spoke again. "I-I brought you a present for you birthday." she said, holding out the box to his direction.

Sasuke hesitated for a moment, and then he took the box with a bored expression upon his handsome face. "It's a birthday cake I made myself." Sakura continued, and it seemed as though her comment caught Sasuke's attention, since he looked at her straight into her amazone eyes, his previous expression now gone.

"Why did you do that?" he asked the pink-haired girl in front of him calmly.

Sakura seemed to be taken aback from his sudden question. She raised her eyes to look at him as well, a look full of confusion taking over her pretty features. "Eh? What do you mean?"

A second sigh of annoyance escaped Sasuke's lips. "Why did you bother to make this for me? You had no reason to." He said, trying hard not to lose his patience.

"Oh…" she let out as a smooth pink colour made its way to her cheeks. "That…"

Seeing that Sakura didn't have any intention of answering his question, the Uchiha boy went to the nearest tree to them and sat on the ground, propping his back against the tree trunk. Sakura followed him slowly and placed herself right next to him. "I know that you hate candies and sweets." she said with a low tone in her voice, some stray pink strands falling in front of her face, which steadily turned to its natural colour now. "But I had to make it for you birthday. You can throw it away if you want." she added, her voice lowering even more by the second, while the fear of the rejection she might faced made her unable to look at the boy next to her.

"Okay." Sasuke said, but he didn't make the slightest move.

They stayed in an awkward silence for a bit more, until Sakura caught with the edge of her eye Sasuke unwrapping the small box next to him. She glanced at him, curious to see what he was going to do. He looked at his birthday cake for a while. Sakura's jaw almost dropped to the ground when she watched the Uchiha prodigy holding out his index finger to the top of the cake and taking a bit of the blue-coloured icing, with which his full name along with the sentence 'Happy Birthday' had been written upon the cake. He brought his finger up to his mouth, which he had opened slightly, and stopped suddenly just some inches before the icing touched his lips.

He turned his gaze at the cherry blossom beside him, who was staring at him with a shocked look spread all over her face. "What are you looking at?" he asked, a smirk forming faintly on his lips.

"N-nothing." Sakura stammered, shaking her hands in front of her as an act of defense to herself. "I just…I have never seen you doing something like that before." she said smiling gently at him.

"Hn."

"Are you really going to taste it?" she asked him, as she saw him turning towards the blue icing once again.

"I guess." Sasuke replied and put his finger into his mouth, licking the sweet component. His face remained apathetic, giving Sakura no sign of whether he had liked it or not. "Want to taste it too?" he asked, his smirk now pretty evident for Sakura to notice. Slowly, he turned to look at her flushing now face, tilting his head a bit towards her side.

The pink-haired girl didn't know how to respond to this, so she just kept quiet and stared at Sasuke with an unreadable expression on her face. Without realizing it, she had come closer to him, for now she could distinguish the small drops of sweat that traveled down his neck, his intoxicating smell filling out her nostrils. Her heart was beating so fast that she thought it was going to jump out of her chest any minute now. She closed her eyes just the moment when their lips united in a deep kiss, the thought of how handsome Sasuke had become whirling inside her mind.

Sakura didn't know who had started this, who was the one that had made the first move, but she didn't truly care. She slipped her arms around Sasuke's neck, bringing him closer to her, while Sasuke only touched her blushed cheek with the tips of his fingers. She had a feeling that Sasuke liked this 'present' of hers more than the cake itself.

After some minutes of kissing, Sasuke was the one who slightly pulled away from Sakura, his mouth forming this usual smirk of his. "Too sweet."

Sakura gave him an inquisitive look, but then she realized what the Uchiha meant. "I knew that I should put less sugar in it." She smiled playfully at him. "I'm glad you liked it, though."

Sasuke just looked at her, his smirk never leaving his face. "Aa."

* * *

**I don't really like the ending of it, but since I wrote that in a hurry, there was not much I could do. But ****I hope you liked it nevertheless! Well, I don't know when the next one will be coming out, but I hope it will be soon (though not as soon as this one, I'm pretty sure). Forgive me for any typing mistakes, but I stayed up until 4:30 AM to finish this, so yeah… Please, don't forget to leave me a review on you way out! Every writer loves feedback! And to remind you again, I do not accept flames, while constructive criticism is much welcomed. **

**A million thanks to my wonderful beta, EmeraldWolfChild, and one of my best friends, Kanashimi Angel, for their help and support! **


	4. Cold

**Title: **Cold

**Author: **jenny-R

**Pairing: **Uchiha Sasuke x Haruno Sakura

**Fandom: **Naruto

**Theme: **#3: jolt!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or its characters. They all belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

**Rating: **Everyone

* * *

**I'm so sorry for my late update, but I really had no time to devote in my writing... But now, I think I'm back for good! I had to write this one quickly, or else I would lose my claim for the couple, which I definitely didn't want to happen! The setting is before the Shippuuden series, which means that Sasuke's and Sakura's age is around 14-15. I hope you like it, and don't forget to drop me a review on your way out, please.**

**Dedicated to Kanashimi Angel as a Christmas -now- present. Enjoy.**

* * *

He saw her with the corner of his eye, sitting with her back against the wall, her pale arms wrapped around her bare knees in a futile attempt to warm herself. Her small body was slightly shivering, due to the low temperature that dominated the cave they were in. The dampness that was spread upon the walls and the cave floor wasn't helping much either.

They had been sent in an identification mission as Team 7 two days ago, but they had to separate with Naruto and Kakashi-sensei to carry the mission out quicker and easier. Kakashi had said that he should be the one to go with Naruto, in case he lost control over the Kyuubi's powers, since he was one of those few that could contain him without getting seriously hurt. So, Sasuke and Sakura teamed up together, but on the second day, the weather was starting to get unpleasant and not appropriate for missions like this.

When some grey clouds had appeared on the clear sky, the Uchiha had suggested that they find a shelter somewhere near, because it seemed like it was going to rain soon enough. Plus, the biting cold that prevailed, rendering them inactive and unable to use most of their jutsus.

Sasuke watched her for a while and then, with a slightly irritated sigh, he took off his shirt and tossed it to the pink-haired girl who gave him a look full of surprise.

"Sasuke-kun..." she said weakly. "Won't you be cold?"

"I'll be fine." he replied, placing himself opposite from the cherry blossom and folding his arms in front of his -bare now- chest. "Just put it on."

Sakura looked at him, and a faint smile appeared on her cold lips. He was more caring and considerate than he let out. With slow movements, she took the warm fabric in her numb hands and put it on herself, taking in Sasuke's sweet odour. Then, she directed her gaze on the raven-haired boy once again. "Thank you." she whispered, trying to smile for him.

"Hn." his reply came, no emotion shown on his pale face.

Neither of them said anything else. Sakura was too cold to speak and Sasuke had no intention to start a conversation with the pink-haired girl. So, they sat there, one facing the other, with the rhythmical sound of their breathing the only thing being heard.

"Sasuke-kun..." Sakura said in a low voice, breaking the awkward silence between them. The Uchiha turned his head towards the girl, an indifferent look on his face. "Can I... come and sit near you?" she uttered out, as she was trying to ignore her chattering teeth.

Sasuke looked at her with his apathetic expression and said nothing in response to her question. It was so amazing, how fragile she was. He watched her as she crawled close to him, her rosy face color steadily fading.

The pinkette stopped just some centimeters away from the boy, so as to feel his body heat, even faintly. Once again, she placed herself in her former position, with her knees up to her chest and her arms wrapped weakly around them. Sasuke caught himself staring at her for a little while, and quickly cocked his head to the other side, shoving all his thoughts of her away.

Despite her being so close to him, Sasuke could still feel her frail body trembling against his. Nevertheless, she didn't whine and neither did she beef about it. Sasuke thought this was somehow strange for her, since she usually talked -and complained- a lot. Not that he minded this silence that dominated the two of them much.

A cool breeze blew at that moment, driving through the damp walls of the cave. The raven-haired boy felt the cold penetrating his bare skin, like a hundred needles had been planted upon his flesh. No words of complaint left his lips, though. Complaints meant weakness and he knew that very well.

Suddenly, he felt Sakura's cold fingers touching his own, and he bent his head to take a better look at her face, not trying to remove his hand from her grip. Her face had lost its pink tinct, and was now as pale as his. Her eyes, still shimmering with that bright emerald color he loved, were fixed on his hand, the one she was holding as firmly as she could.

Surprised and curious at the same time, he remained silent and just watched as her fingers were now stroking his numb hand, in a futile effort to warm it up. Her amazone orbs travelled from his hand up to his face and looked at him with a look full of remorse. Sasuke was taken aback by her sudden change of behaviour, but still said nothing.

"Sasuke-kun..." she whispered his name. "You're so cold."

The words were uttered in such a matter-of-factly way that Sasuke _almost_ felt an urge to laugh. Her eyes were piercing his, full of concern. His hand was still trapped in hers, and even though he hadn't realized it yet, it had begun getting a bit warmer.

His eyes made contact with hers, onyx meeting emerald. "No, I'm not." He was damn stubborn and she knew it.

"Yes, you are!" she exclaimed, squeezing his hand tighter into hers. "And yet, you gave me your shirt..." Her eyes seemed watery, and Sasuke thought that she hadn't changed that much, after all. He closed his eyes, snorting in annoyance. "I said I'm fine."

Sakura seemed ready to protest, but she chose to remain silent. She gave him a last look, doubt filling her green orbs, and leaned her back on the cave wall as she had been earlier, not caring to release Sasuke's hand from her grip yet. The boy let a second sigh of irritation escape his lips, but didn't move his hand underneath Sakura's either.

The last ray of sunlight that illuminated the cold cave slowly disappeared, as the dark, intimidating clouds took over the previously blue sky, threatening to pour all the water they hid inside them down on the dry earth. The first spatters of rain touched the ground soon after, leaving a sweet and melodic sound behind, like a lullaby. Sasuke liked the rain. It comforted him to listen to its mild sound as it fell on the ground, drenching everything it touched and washing all of his worries away.

Carried away by his thoughts, he didn't immediately notice that the pink-haired girl had clasped his hand tighter, bringing her body closer to his. But before he could say or do anything, a bright lightning tore the sky in two, soon followed by a loud thunder that echoed through the cave they were in. Sakura's body jolted in fear, her arms were instinctively wrapped around Sasuke's neck, and her face was burried in his chest, that despite the low temperature, had managed to keep some of his body's warmth.

"Sakura," the Uchiha uttered, still surprised by the girl's sudden action. Her nails were dug in his flesh as a second thunder was heard, and he thought he heard a small cry coming from her lips that were stuck on his chest. He winced, as a wave of pain shot down his body, and he lowered his head to take a better look at the pinkette. "What's the matter?"

The cherry blossom kept quiet, but Sasuke could feel her head shaking intensely against his chest. When the third thunder was heard, louder than the previous ones, Sakura hugged Sasuke's torso even tighter, her face now hidden in the crook of his neck. She could feel his heart beating against her body in a slow pace, and for a moment she forgot about everything around her, the rhythmical beat being the only sound that reached her ears, soothing her.

The rain had subsided a little, and only the comforting sound of the raindrops falling gracefully on the ground could be heard. Sakura opened her eyes, still holding onto the Uchiha's body tight. "Is it over?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

Sasuke turned his head to her side, not being able to see her face. "Aa." His gaze rested on her soft pink locks that fell upon her shoulders, where his shirt was to supposedly warm the girl up, and he thought that pink made a nice contrast with blue. "You can come out now."

With a reluctant move, the cherry blossom unwrapped her arms from around the boy's neck, noticing the scratches that her nails had left on his shoulder. Leaving a loud gasp, she tried to get off of him quickly, so she could apologize for being so reckless and hurting him. But her attempt failed, as one of her feet slipped when she tried to step on the cave floor to get up, and she landed on top of Sasuke, her cold lips softly brushing against his own. Her emerald eyes widened in surprise of her own action, interlocking with Sasuke's charcoal ones, that showed no feeling or emotion.

She pulled away from him, a smooth pink color tainting her cheeks as a sign of embarassment. She muttered something incomprehensible under her breath, as she brought her gaze down, not being courageous enough to look at the Uchiha boy beside her. Placing her hands on her lap, she was limited in just staring at them, while waiting for Sasuke to say something to her, or in the worst case, to yell at her.

But her fears were never confirmed, as the obsidian-eyed shinobi just turned his head to have a full look at her flushed face, his trademark smirk starting to creep upon his lips. "I guess you're not cold anymore."

* * *

**After finally finishing it, I think that something's wrong with it... And once again, I really don't like the ending. But I'm happy I managed to finish it relatively quickly compared to my average writing time. Make me happy by sending me reviews, and maybe the next one will be up sooner than you expect :wink: **

**Special thanks to my beta, EmeraldWolfChild for her precious help, despite being so busy. Happy holidays to everyone! **


	5. Color Of Life

**Title:** Color Of Life

**Author: **jenny-R

**Pairing: **Uchiha Sasuke x Haruno Sakura

**Fandom: **Naruto

**Theme: **#19: red

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or its characters. They all belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

**Rating: **T

* * *

**Hello once again. Here is my monthly update for this collection, and you should expect one more soon, since I need to cover up for those four months of inactivity. This ****is supposed to be the angsty one I talked about all this time, but seems like it didn't turn out as expected… I have to warn you for **_**spoilers of chapters 386 and 387 of the manga.**_** So, those of you who haven't read them and don't want to be spoiled, please don't proceed. That's all I have to say for now. Please, stick with me until the end. Enjoy!**

**I million thanks to my wonderful beta, EmeraldWolfChild! Nothing would have been written had it not been for you. **

* * *

Everything was happening so fast. 

From the moment she and the blond fox-boy had tracked Sasuke and his new comrades, everything seemed to be moving in an extreme speed. Everything seemed to unfurl in front of her emerald eyes in such a quick pace, that she had thought she would be unable to follow the course of events.

She was running, mustering all the willpower and determination that had been welling up steadily inside of her all those years, with the sole purpose of finding him after such a long time, and finally meeting with him. Only the thought of it made her forget her exhaustion and continue running, for she knew that _he_ was not so far away from her anymore.

Naruto was following with her at first, but had stayed behind, fighting an Akatsuki member that was chasing after them. She knew how much the blond wanted to be there at the moment of their meeting, how much he longed and dreamt of this moment, but she also knew how important this fight was for Naruto himself. He had given her directions, on how to reach the hidden Uchiha compound where the two brothers were having their final battle, and then greeted her off, his reassuring smile never leaving his face.

She felt a shiver running down her spine, and she slowed her pace down until she came to a halt. Staying awake for two days and without getting any rest in between was starting to get to her. She bent down and supported her palms on her knees, her breathing rough as she was inhaling and exhaling the air quickly. She felt her lungs burning as the cold air was filling them up, and her knees started shaking faintly. After some minutes she got up, the determination shining in her amazone eyes, and she picked up her pace once again.

Not long after, an old building came into view, and Sakura stopped dead in her tracks. According to Naruto's descriptions, this should be it.

She walked towards it with hesitant steps, and entered from the already broken door. She had no idea where she was supposed to search for the two brothers, so she just walked inside seeking for any trace of them. Her fingers were frozen, and she couldn't feel most of her body parts, but she just ignored this, trying to focus all of her senses on her search.

And then, she felt it. A very familiar chakra was stemming from a place close to her, and she smiled for a spilt second, recognizing the power she had admired ever since she had met _him_.

Hastening her pace, she followed it, each step of hers confirming the chakra's owner, until…

A voice.

A thud.

And then, silence.

She felt the familiar chakra,_ his_ chakra faltering, and her heart skipped a beat. Her eyes widened, as she realized what might have happened. Not knowing where the two Uchihas were, she started running desperately, the faint chakra Sasuke's body emitted being her only guide. Hundreds of thoughts crossed her mind as she was coming closer and closer to the place where the battle was being held, and the fear inside of her was growing by the second.

The chakra became a little stronger, and Sakura stopped abruptly in front of a half-opened door. Holding out her right hand to touch the cold material, she clenched her left fist tightly, her nails coming in contact with the fabric of her gloves. With almost no effort at all, she pushed the door open, and her muscles instantly froze at the sight in front of her.

There, stuck on the wall was Sasuke, his body bruised and battered and his face bearing an unreadable expression. Itachi was standing in front of him, holding his left arm behind his head, rendering him unable to move or attack. He whispered something to his younger brother, and then his fingers reached for his face, moving slowly. Sasuke's expression changed from cold to surprised, as the fingers circled his left eye and pushed against it with force.

The loud scream of pain that left the avenger's lips penetrated Sakura's heart, and for the second time she felt her knees shaking uncontrollably. The young kunoichi didn't realize when her strength abandoned her legs, and she collapsed, landing on the marble floor silently. Her cheeks felt wet and hot, and her vision had started to get blurry. Her mouth semi-open, but her voice unable to come out. She just watched, as the raven-haired boy's screams were becoming louder, and the blood coming out of his new wound trickled on the floor, forming a small pond around him.

Itachi backed away from him, and the boy fell on the floor, bringing his hand up to his face in an attempt to cover the fresh wound. His screams had faded, but the pain still remained. The older Uchiha walked in the middle of the room, his back facing the boy behind him. He stopped, and he spoke, his voice hoarse and loud.

"It's not over yet."

Sasuke made an effort to stand up, but he found himself unable to. The crimson blood had covered his face and made it difficult for him to see clear. He clenched his teeth, and leaned his back on the wall behind him, trying to recuperate. "You-" He started, but he never got the chance to finish his phrase, as his brother spoke again, turning his body towards Sakura this time. "We seem to have an intruder here."

The pink-haired girl's eyes widened, as Itachi looked at her, his face a mask of apathy, and his eyes stuck on her.

His eyes.

They were different from what she remembered. They were…

Her blood had stopped circulating, her mind had stopped working. Her emerald orbs were looking right inside his crimson ones, recognizing Sasuke's indifferent stare.

Everything was happening so fast, and she was unable to follow the course of events.

"Sakura…" A husky voice, barely above a whisper reached her numb ears, and she turned her head slowly towards the source of it. "Sasuke-kun…" She wasn't sure if she had uttered those words out loud, or if she had just thought of them. Sasuke's figure, broken and drenched in his own blood, was looking at her, surprise clearly written upon his face.

The green-eyed kunoichi looked back at him, an unconscious smile of relief creeping upon her pale lips. She was glad, so glad that he was still alive. Of course, his injuries were serious, but she would take care of that later, when-

Her thoughts were interrupted when the man in the middle of the room turned to his younger brother, and wiped the blood around his own eye with his index finger. "We'll continue some other time then." A look, a smirk, and he was gone, dissolving into hundreds of ravens, which flew away leaving no trace behind.

Sasuke was left looking at the place his older brother was standing some moments ago, his teeth clenched, and his features distorted from anger and pain. He had let him get away again. With as much power as he had left, he hit his fist on the floor next to him, causing some drips of blood to land on his clothing. Sakura was staring at the empty room before her as well, not being able to believe everything that was happening. Her arms fell to her sides, relieving the tension that was keeping her immobile.

A cry of pain left the onyx-eyed boy's lips, and he covered his wounded face with his palms, trying to stop the blood from gushing out. Sakura turned towards him, and mustering all of the power that was left in her, she stood up and walked to his side, her knees still trembling. Falling down next to him, she circled his neck with her arms, not yet aware of the new tears that adorned her face.

She had not imagined their reunion like this, but she was more than happy that he was still alive. She backed away from him, and kissed his forehead tenderly, her palms colored with the scarlet color of his blood. The Uchiha raised his gaze and looked at her with his remaining eye, unable to understand why she was crying. One bloody finger came up to her cheek, and he caressed it softly, intending to wipe her tears away. The kunoichi smiled at him, and caught his hand to hers. "Let's treat your wounds now, or else you're going to die from blood loss." Sasuke nodded, and Sakura gathered her chakra to her palm to start healing his wounds.

The sound of steps reached their ears, and the door creaked open once again, revealing an upset blond boy, who was huffing incessantly. His ocean blue eyes wandered around the room for a while until he found the two, and a big smile made its way to his face. "Sasuke-teme!"

Sakura remembered how afraid she used to be of Sasuke's eyes. When he would look at her with those onyx orbs, her whole body would paralyze. And when they would turn into that deep, crimson red color, she would often feel this small tinge of fear steadily growing inside of her.

His eyes were his power. A power that sometimes he was unable to control. A power that was granted to him without his will. A power that he had welcomed. And a power that he had now lost.

And as he was lying there, surrounded by his old friends and caked with his blood, he thought that red was a nice color.

It was the color of his favorite food, tomatoes.

It was the color of Sakura's clothes, he remembered her wearing it constantly.

It was the color of Sharingan, his bloodline limit.

It was the color of blood, the one that was surrounding him.

It was the color of life, the one he had once lost and was now about to start again.

* * *

**I know it's not my best piece, since it has so many weak points (actually the whole thing**_** is**_** weak…), but just try to bear with me. This was really difficult for me to write, and I think that the result is not satisfying. Actually, the angst is almost nowhere to be seen since it has an optimistic ending. Sigh. I just have to put my best in the next angsty one. **

**Loved it? Hated it? Just let me know in a review please. They make me happy, and I really need some happiness right now. **


End file.
